Smile
by Vereesa
Summary: <html><head></head>Lanille. The first time it happened...</html>


**A/N: **I'm not too sure of why I wrote this. It was kind of inspired by the song "Smile" by Armchair Cynics. I've been getting surges to write one-shots lately, which is horrible because I _really_ need to focus on my ongoing fic. Anyway, if you haven't played the game or even gotten around to finish it there will be some spoilers. You were warned. Also, some OOC on Light's part.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, and that's probably for the best.

The first time it happened, the skies were charcoal black with debris, blue eyes surveyed the frozen ocean in search of a way out.

The strange new girl who had gleefully volunteered to aid her had fallen back along the line. But the keen soldier knew otherwise, as gentle, distant sobs traveled to her ears. The girl was far enough to convince herself that she couldn't be heard, yet even our most vulnerable moments have a habit of giving us away.

The soldier let her be, yet kept an eye out in case more psicom goons decided they fancied a vulnerable target. Besides, she had her own issues to deal with, she wasn't about to go off and falsely concern herself with another person's issues.

The third time it happened, however, was when Lightning and Hope had finally reunited with the group once again. There was a silent proposal that the party take time to rest before they proceed any further. Vanille made it final that the boys should sleep further from the girls, due to "privacy". Lightning thought it was odd, and childish that she would make such a proposal. As far as she knew, even when she spent nights at her HQ the sleeping quarter's were not divided by gender, but by rank.

She reluctantly obliged to the odd girl's proposal (which she seemingly made final by drawing a line between both sides), silently sitting back against a rock as far away from the group as she could possibly get (of course whilst keeping them in sight in case trouble came along). She hadn't intended on falling asleep, of course she hadn't intended on fatigue immediately washing over her as soon as she was comfortable. She wondered how long she truly was running and fighting. A day? Two? The skies never changed, they were always dark with ominous clouds, as though they were meant to be hidden away from God's shamed eyes.

She couldn't tell you when she had fallen asleep, however the moment she woke up she was met by the gentle feeling of something pressed against her side, something resting on her shoulder and soft red hair brushing against her neck.

"Vanille...?" She moved to the push the girl away, only vaguely aware of the damp feeling on her shoulder as the girl's body shook momentarily, causing her to lean closer. The soldier sighed, too tired to even bother with her unexpected _new_ sleeping arrangements. All she knew was that she was glad the bumbling idiot Snow wasn't around to tease her. Though, she could really go for a punching bag right now.

The fifth time it happened, Vanille had finally been reunited with her long lost companion. Lightning was glad she'd finally have someone who actually cared about her vulnerable spells of spontaneous "sleep crying".

However, whilst they were traveling their underground escape in search of an exit, Vanille had once again volunteered to be in Lightning's party, Lightning couldn't lie, the glare the wild haired woman shot her nearly stopped her heart.

The soldier would never admit to that, and neither would her mask of placidity. She reluctantly obliged, she didn't quite like Fang, either way, and the one effective way she knew how to deal with the ones she didn't like was to get under their skin. To get on their bad side.

However, now Lightning was dealing with a dull, silent girl who seemed to be brooding only slightly as they traveled. Lightning's search was only hindered by the fact that she was bothered by the unusual silence, something that she would have relished in before. She thought it strange, was she finally losing her mind? Was the brand on her chest to blame for her odd feelings?

"Smile," she finally muttered, stopping abruptly and feeling the distracted girl smack face first into her back.

"..?"

She rounded on the girl, irritation evident, "I don't know what your problem is, and frankly I don't care. But this insistent quiet is raking on my last nerve! It's a distraction, it's inhibiting your fighting capabilities and what ever ability you have to actually _think_ and do something _useful_. And...and don't start crying..I hate it when you cry." Her last sentence was muttered quietly as she dutifully returned to her patrol, leaving Vanille to silently mull over what had just been sagely barked at her.

The ninth time it happened it wasn't even bothering the soldier anymore, what was bothering her was how she had somehow become the girl's sanctuary every time she had an argument with Fang, she knew they'd kiss and make up and things would be sugar and rainbows again until something from their past popped up once more – Lightning swore she was stuck in a twilight zone of infinite _Déjà vu_

.

This time, however, Vanille was fuming as Lightning silently sat at her post atop a large rock that had seemingly been conveniently carved into the shape of a bench of sorts, the campfire behind them crackling as though mimicking the girl's frustrated pacing. Not far off behind them, the group was sitting tightly around their own campfire, murmuring lowly about things the soldier could care less about. What they'd do once the threat passed over, what life was like before they got into this mess...

When her anger finally passed, Lightning could hear the sounds of the girls boots silently scuffing against the ground, she sighed, but she didn't comment on the fact that she was failing miserably at being stealthy.

It wasn't until she felt gentle arms wrapping around her waist and a delicate kiss ghost her neck that she began to growl in a dangerous tone, "go any further and you're going to miss having arms to actually _wrap_ around someone." She moved to grasp one of the girls hands, releasing her grip on her waist and standing from seated position, she turned around and offered a raised eyebrow that commanded the girl explain her actions.

Vanille only smiled knowingly, and skipped off towards the group.

Lightning could lie, however, as her heart practically thundered in her ears, she _knew_ exactly why the little things that changed the other girl's attitude effected her own.

Not too long after that, they had stumbled upon the ruined village of Oerba, learned of the girl's pasts, and set off to repair Vanille's blasted toy...pet...thing. The party split up, however with the amount of Cie'th, Lightning would have felt better if they traveled in pairs – worry of whether Hope would be fine on his own settled like a stone in her stomach. The protective older sibling part of her always wanting to wander off to his aid whenever they got into big trouble with powerful enemies. However, she was set on finding the necessary parts to repair the damned robot that Vanille fondly stared at with a ghost of a reminiscent smile.

In the end she teamed up with Snow and Hope, they returned battered and dirtied with the necessary parts in hand, Vanille's smile widened and she threw her arms around each of the boys. Hope's face burned bright red as he was practically tackled to the ground.

Lightning's aching body practically screamed, she turned to silently leave as Vanille occupied herself with watching Sazh "operate" on her companion. She was just pleased that Vanille's solemn smile had reincarnated into a genuine, happy, idiotic grin.

She retreated off to the home that Vanille had, once again, announced as a "girl's only" zone, she half expected her excuse to be, "because boys have cooties!"

She smiled slightly to herself as she stripped off her dusty uniform, she sorely wished the ocean they were near wasn't littered with crystal dust so she could rinse it out. Instead, she was forced to use her own supply of the fresh water they had picked up from a spring before arriving to the village. She'd have to walk some distance back just to have a decent bath. She tore off fabric from a bed in the home, the blankets having grown thin and practically rotted in the years of disuse. She sprinkled water from her canteen and went to work on her fresh wounds, not wishing to bother Hope into healing her when he could be saving his energy in case an actual threat came up that day.

The door to the home opened with a low cracking sound, Lightning glanced over her shoulder, half expecting Fang to walk in with a sneer. Half prepared for a fight with the woman if she made another crack about her licking her wounds.

Instead she was met by Vanille, who seemed slightly surprised to find Lightning clad in simply the shorts she wore under her skirt and the only other article she wore under her vest.

The soldier turned around completely, placing a hand on her hip and raising a curious eyebrow at the blushing girl, "...can I...help you with something..?" She finally offered, awkwardly.

Vanille cleared her throat, "I, ah...thought I'd heal you since Snow downed our last potion."

Lightning made a mental note to beat him extra hard for making such a selfish, idiotic mistake. "I'm fine, I can take care of myself," she finally stated flatly, returning to her work, "thanks for the offer, though."

She felt something jab her side, she cringed slightly, biting back a yelp that became muffled into a low groan. Vanille clucked her tongue, "bandages won't heal broken ribs, Lightning, you should know that. Well, I'm not strong enough to heal them completely either, but I can help the process. We'll just be anchored here for a few days as opposed to a few weeks for you to heal fully." Without allowing the girl another protest, she hovered her hand over the spot, warmth from the spell flooding over the wounded area, the soldier breathed in sharply as felt her ribs cracking into place, the pain was quickly replaced with a dull throb. Vanille then moved on to Lightning's hand, slightly swollen and limp due to an ill timed block on Lightning's part, once again she felt the sharp pain of her bones repairing until that too passed and Vanille's hand was quickly moving on to it's next destination.

Lightning finally mustered a grunt, "I'd rather fight an army of Cie'th than be healed by _you_ again."

Vanille chuckled, halting her movement, "we portray our feelings through our magic, it has the potential to increase the intensity of our spells. Hope's healing probably doesn't hurt you, and probably leaves you feeling ten times better than you usually do, correct? That is because he truly cares for you. But have you ever noticed Snow practically doubles over when he's being healed by Hope? That is why Snow prefers potions when he's grouped with you two."

"So then you hate me?" Lightning gingerly rubbed her ribs with a hurt frown.

"No," Vanille smiled, "that was just revenge for threatening to rip my arms off, and for recklessly running off earlier." 

Lightning rubbed the back of her neck, uneasily shifting to glance away, "I told you...you should keep smiling. Genuinely. Not that forced smile you do when something's wrong but you're trying to convince everyone otherwise. It might fool Fang and Snow, but I _know_ a mask when I see one.."

Vanille angrily poked the girl's sore side again, earning another groan of pain, "it's _you_ who should smile more, Farron. I've _seen_ you smiling before, you don't have to be such a hard ass all the time. Besides, if you keep frowning you'll get wrinkles all over your face."

"Smile.." Lightning furrowed her brows, "that's a foreign word to my body."

"Smile!" She exclaimed, forming a big grin and adding astutely, "like this!"

"Like this?" Lightning grimaced.

"Like this.." Vanille moved her hands up, pushing the corners of the older girl's mouth upward into a forced grin, an amused smile gracing her face.

She finally stepped back, with a light giggle.

"Ah, I see. I think I get it now." Lightning said with a slight smirk that caused the other girl to blush slightly.

The redhead lowered her head and returned to healing the woman, who protested by saying it was unnecessary exertion.

Seconds later, the pulsian hummed as she examined her own work, "how do you feel?"

"Well, I don't feel like Alexander landed on me anymore."

"Did he..?"

"Almost, actually, I think it landed on Snow's foot, though. You might want to check on him later."

"Concerned?"

"On second thought, let him suffer."

Vanille chuckled and stepped closer to the woman, a confused expression flashed on Lightning's face as she wrapped her arms around her middle for the second time that week, instead of moving to kiss the woman she rested her head on her chest and muttered, "remember what I said about magic, and don't threaten to rip my arms off again. I just forgot to hug you earlier because you looked to be in so much pain, I guess I was right after all. But now that I think about it, it must be more than physical pain."

"..." Lightning partially wanted to shove the girl away, but figured she valued her own life more when she wasn't burnt to a crisp by a firaga.

"I think you're a broken person," Vanille finally added, "and I want so badly to fix you. But...the question is...can I?"

Lightning cleared her throat, gently moving her hand to stroke the girl's soft hair, still uncertain of how she should respond to her sudden rambles.

"I...I guess what I'm saying.." was her voice shaking? And now Lightning's heart was thundering in her damned chest and she was certain that the rambling girl could hear it, she shifted slightly, moving to lift the girl's face up towards her.

She moved forward, pressing her lips softly against the bumbling girl's, successfully silencing her. She felt hands snake upwards to grip the cloth at her back. Once they broke for air, the girl shifted and shyly hid her face in the woman's neck.

"I think I like you." Lightning finally hummed, blushing slightly (much to her frustration).

"I think I'm in love with you..." Vanille muttered in her neck.

X-x-.

A piercing sun reflected odd lights and colors from the crystallized world as the band of friends boisterously collected themselves. Lightning silently stood observing the happy scene, Sazh clutching his son to himself, Snow and Serah happily crying in each other's arms.

"They're not coming back, are they..." Hope stood beside her, a sullen look on his face. Lightning placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, though she knew his version of "they" included his lost mother. "But if we woke up, that means they'll wake up eventually too, right?" He looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes that nearly broke the strong woman's heart. She moved to pull him into a vice hug, silently promising that they would return to them. Their new home.


End file.
